Hop Along with us and "Be Thankful"

Hello my Friends.

This is officially the last Mediterranean Achiever's blog hop (don't worry, next month we will be starting with our Thailand Achiever's blog hop!) and it is also, officially, my favourite themed hop of all.....Thankfulness!  
(You may be starting at my blog - Cynthia Millan - or maybe you've already been hopping?  Whichever is the case, make certain you check the list at the bottom and visit everyone else's blog too.  You don't want to miss any of the great projects!)

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a LOT to be thankful for.  And believe me, I am!  I could, quite literally, fill up the page with a list of just some of the things that I have to be thankful for.   But being thankful is also a choice.  A matter of perspective.  And if you will allow me to set a serious tone for a moment, I want to point out how absolutely perfect the sentiment on this card is.

In everything

Give Thanks

The list of what I have to be thankful for is long. I have a wonderful family. A husband whom I adore. Four children that fill my heart to overflowing. Customers who have become cherished friends and good friends who have become faithful customers. A team that is supportive and caring, encouraging and crafty.  I work for a Catholic charity that trains missionary disciples to go onto university campuses and help heal lost or wandering souls. And I represent Stampin' Up!, a company that has rewarded my hard work by sending me on phenomenal trips to exotic places (I earned the 2017 trip to Thailand!!). And even in all this, in all the blessings that I have received, even in my life there has been pain. 

Three weeks ago my mother passed away from cancer. 

I will not say more about that right now. It is one of the hardest things I have ever lived through in my whole life.  
Ever.  
And it is a subject for a different post on a different day. 
But even in this, one of the most painful moments in my life, I still choose and believe that in everything, I will give thanks.

Everything.

Almost too shiny to capture all that gold!!

So my card is bright and shiny and reflective of the joy that is in my heart and how truly thankful I am. I might add that this card is so shiny with gold, it was difficult to photograph properly!

My sentiment, heat-embossed in gold, is from the Suite Seasons stamp set from the Holiday Catalogue. Layering oval framelits and gold foil are the perfect way to display the sentiment, and metallic gold doilies add even more shine.

But the golden gratitude doesn't stop there....I layered these elements onto a mat cut from the Fancy Frost Specialty designer paper.  You might have missed this paper in the Holiday catalogue but I sure didn't...Six lovely pre-embossed white patterns.  I used the foliage pattern and very, very lightly and carefully ran a sponge dauber (that I had inked up using my versamark ink pad) over the embossed raised pattern.  A bit of gold powder and heat-setting of this and voila.  A vintage look with a burnished gold pattern of leaves.

Can you see it in the close up? Imperfect, perhaps.  But a perfect effect, nonetheless.

Close up of gold-embossed, embossed leaf pattern on the Fancy Frost designer paper.

Some metallic gold thread.    Strips of gold foil behind the Fancy Frost paper (to make it seem like there is a gold mat behind the Fancy Frost DSP...but why waste all that gold foil, right?  Just use strips!).  And a few cut outs from the Paisleys thinlits (I even used some of the discarded foil bits from the framelits to add a couple of extra, small, gold foil elements to the card).  And there you have it.  A golden ray of sunshine.  A testament to Thankfulness.


Hope you like my card and are enjoying the rest of the Blog hop too.  If you are anywhere in Canada, you can contact me HERE and I will be happy to place your orders for you (or you can place your own order online HERE.  If your order is less than $200, please use the hostess code EWRZMGSR when you check out).

Thanks for stopping by.  
Have an absolutely fantastic rest-of-your-week.  And remember.  In everything (EVERYTHING...) Give Thanks! 
God Bless you all,    ~Cynthia   <><

List of blog hop participants: 

CASE on a Founders Circle Fall Card

Hi there Friends

Founders Swap card created by Nancy Lewis

At my Open House last weekend, several of my customers pointed out a gorgeous Fall card on my board that used the Baby Wipe technique to achieve a variegated colourization of the image.  The card was created by Nancy Lewis as her Founders card swap, and even includes a piece of window sheet to simulate a window behind the wreath.

Our team Baby Wipe card.

Well, at our downline training meeting on Sunday night I decided to teach my team to duplicate this card.  And can I just say that the samples they created were gorgeous.

Using re-inkers in Blackberry Bliss, Tangelo Twist, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Old Olive, we were able to create quite a few Fall cards.

And the Hardwood stamping on the background gives it just a bit of piece de resistance, don't you think?

I love how no 2 cards were identical!

Everyone had a chance to create their own wreath and I think I managed to convince some of them that wreaths, and the SU! wreath in particular, are NOT just for Christmas     :)

My Ornamental Pine Class and Lovely as a Tree Class (see here) are getting a tremendous amount of attention.  Everyone wants to make those gorgeous cards  and can you blame them?  I still have a few spots to fill for the classes and I have created several kits-to-go so if you are considering joining us, let me know soon.  I will look forward to stamping with several of you in the coming day.
 
In the meantime, enjoy your week and have a wonderful Wednesday.  l hope all is well and that you are having a terrific day.  God Bless you all,      ~Cynthia    <><